Top 100 Books To Read: The BBC Big Read

Skyping with Monty led to the topic of books and the Top 100 list. Inspired, I have searched out BBC’s listand copied it here. The ones I’ve completed are marked ♦ and the ones I didn’t like and didn’t complete are marked ◊. The ones I really love are marked, of course, with a ♥. Here goes:

I’m really pleased to see so many Terry Pratchetts on the list, especially since I don’t know how many more he can churn out before dementia takes over. I did think that at least one from Reaper Man, Feet Of Clay, Witches Abroad, Wyrd Sisters and Pyramids might have made the list too.

Jane Austen – yeah! Hurray for Emma! I also applaud the inclusion of the two Brontes.

I feel snarkily pleased at the exclusion of Twilight and Anne Rice. Did not like these. My vote for a modern vampire story would be Robin McKinley’s Sunshine.

Why A Christmas Carol instead of A Tale Of Two Cities, which was much less annoying?

I’d expected at least one solo Neil Gaiman entry – though I suppose Sandman may not count as a novel-novel, and my personal favourite, The Graveyard Book, was published way after this list was compiled. Speaking of which, no Rudyard Kipling?

What about Laura Ingalls Wilder? James Herriot? LM Montgomery’s Emily as well as Anne? Where was Dracula, or Frankenstein? Charlotte’s Web – how could it not be there? War Of The Worlds? Lolita – where’s my Lolita? Kazuo Ishiguro – how could they have omitted him? Agatha Christie’s spectacular 10 Little Indians, or perhaps Mousetrap, if they might consider a play? Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest? Samuel Shem’s House Of God? Michael Ende’s Momo, or The Neverending Story? Audrey Niffeneger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife, which made me cry quarts? Peter Carey’s Oscar And Lucinda? PG Wodehouse? Margaret Atwood? Doris Lessing? Possibly Alexander McCall Smith or Jodi Picoult? And since Stephen King is there, why not Dean Koontz?

Eeps, my little rant has made me wonder how much money I’ve spent buying these books. Heh. My count of completed books is 52 – kinda more than I’d expected, because my taste in books can be quite juvenile (loved Lemony Snicket – where was he? And Malory Towers!) and uncerebral (examples withheld, as quite insulting).

I wonder if it’s true that the average person has read only six books on the list. I couldn’t find that bit on the BBC website… but if it’s on the Internet, it MUST be true, right (hur hur, hyuk)?

I think that I just might be able to clear the full hundred in the next five years. Kinokuniya, here I come!

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My blog-name is Katie but I will not respond if you call me that in real life because it's not my real name. Yes, I do practise virtual-world paranoia. No, I do not enjoy stalkers. But I do enjoy writing and having folks reading said writing, so welcome to my world. It's nice to meet you.

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